Fellow Laderians,

When I was a member of the Ladera Ranch Maintenance Board – LARMAC – one of the causes I championed was to relax the Homeowner Association rules where common sense warranted it. I realize the rules and bylaws were drafted to ensure that the value and enjoyment of the community was maintained. And I agree, for the most part, these standards are inviolate.

That said, some rules and standards warrant review and changed if necessary. For example, the LARMAC Board changed the clubhouse rule for the hours that amplified music could be played during parties because neighbors were complaining about the late, late noise emanating from these facilities.

Which brings me to the "72-hour" rule. If you park your car on LARMAC property, which is the case in the Front Street complex of 22 residential homes that are also zoned for light-traffic businesses, such as the Ladera Times, your car must be moved every 72 hours or risk being towed, which costs the owner $300 to get the car back. I'm told the county and state police enforce the same 72-hour rule on public roads.

I imagine some legislative do-gooder came up with this idea in the mistaken belief that this will somehow control people's "bad" behavior, such as leaving junkers in public view and possibly thwarting residents from parking service trucks and maybe campers and boats in our neighborhoods. However, I really don't know, and if any reader can explain the thinking behind this rule, please email us at LaderaTimes@hotmail.com. But, as is often the case, there are unintended consequences as a result of this rule.

When I was in college in Pittsburgh in the 60s, I owned a 1964 Corvair Spyder convertible. I loved that car but I had to sell it to pay my senior tuition and I have spent the last 45 years longing to buy another one.

This is a 47-year-old high-demand classic car and, while I was in the hospital last April, I tracked one down on my iPad and bought it. It was delivered right after I got home but I was unable to do anything with it because I was recuperating from surgery and undergoing chemotherapy, which I wrote about in this column.

This didn't stop one of my neighbors from reporting the Corvair as an abandoned car. I received several warnings to move the car or have it towed, but here is the stupid part – I only have to move it to the next parking space to avoid being towed and I'm okay if I do this every 72-hours. How stupid is that? It has happened again last week, even though the car is titled and legal. What causes people to report their neighbors for these petty "offenses!"

I ran out and yelled at Tony Castillo, owner of Castillo Private Patrol, but it really wasn't his fault; he was simply doing his job. So I want to publicly apologize to Tony for my bad behavior. I was frustrated that, because I don't drive this classic car very often, a neighbor would turn me in, and because this asinine rule forces me to now go out and move my car every 72 hours. I'm going to do it, though, every 72 hours, moving it to the next open slot and back again, if for no other reason than to frustrate this petty neighbor of mine. And I'm going to fight to have this senseless HOA rule eliminated.

If you have an opinion on this rule one way or another, please vote on the online poll on the Home Page, and email us your thoughts to LaderaTimes@hotmail.com.

Jim Schmitt, Editor and Publisher